Mid Feb 2024
The arrangement of the trip was great and everything was well planned.
My family enjoyed the skiing trip in Shiga Kogen.
Thanks,
Mr PC Yuen
Mid Feb 2024
Your organisation was really good and we thank your company for that. We skied at Shiga Kogen which is a long valley consisting of multiple small ski areas. The area where our Prince Hotel was located was the largest area. The skiing was as advertised with mainly intermediate skiing. We were a small group of 2 older males and our younger niece and we had two separate rooms. We stayed in Prince Hotel West and were satisfied with the food, the rooms and the onsen (which we used a lot). We were a little annoyed that the bus from Nagano station does not bother to stop at the front door and we had to lug our gear from the bus through the snow to the front door. We also had a brief look at the Prince Hotel East wing. We thought the West offered better value. However we thought the hotels lacked any charm. The West only had one area for gathering which consisted of about 8 tables with chairs which was accessible during the day but then closed at 5pm to become a bar area where you had to buy a drink from a machine otherwise you would be asked to leave. So no area with fireside and comfy lounges as you might expect. The drinks at the "bar" were very overpriced and there was not a great variety. There is a shop where you can buy drinks to take back to your room, amongst other things, but we were surprised they didn't sell things such as energy bars and such that you could take with you while skiing. There are two outside restaurants very close to the West that are good, a Chinese and a Raman. If we were to go again to Shiga Kogen we would probably stay at a smaller, more intimate hotel probably in Ichanose. Inchanose is very close to the Prince Hotel West and is connected by two ski lifts.
Again thanks for your Japan Snow Accommodation for all the booking and transport details, a job well done.
David
Early Feb 2024
I hope you are well. We are currently in Maebashi and transferring to Kagura tomorrow.
Thanks for all your help with our journey. Shigakogen has definitely been the highlight so far. The snow held up well while we were there even although there was not a lot of fresh delivered. Nozawaonsen not so good snow but a wonderful village to lie low in and enjoy all those restaurants. Mamoru and his wife were excellent hosts at Maruiken Sanso.
James
Early feb 2024
Really enjoyed the trip. The Prince Hotel was clean with good facilities and friendly staff. Awesome skiing! A good place to base from considering the expanse of Shiga Kogen. The immediately accessible Yakibitaiyama ski area was always well groomed every morning and there were no big lift queue’s. All the other ski areas are easily accessible via connecting lifts. Thanks for your service again.I will be in contact with you later in the year to book next year’s accommodation.
Regards
Brendan Hatherly
Early Feb 2024
I think the service you offer is great and I have passed your details to friends. The Prince, is great. It was my fourth visit, warm, clean, great food and ski in ski out- what can you say! Already booked for next year
Gary
1st February 2023
As always we enjoyed our time at Shiga Kogen it is an amazing resort. The Prince Hotel delivered as usual with breakfast a highlight as it was a great way to start the day. Great weather was a bonus with plenty of snow along with very cold temps. We certainly picked a good time to go.
The only negative was that Nagano shuttle no longer picks up direct from the hotel as they used to and expect you to catch the local bus (packed to the hilt) down the hill to Nagano. The way it used to work was in my opinion much better and maybe you can make that comment to them for us.
Your service I must say was exemplary and made everything so easy for us. Your organisation from start to finish was flawless. We would be pleased if you would arrange next years trip for us. For next year we are thinking of splitting our time between Hakuba and Shiga and look forward to you advising us of the best deals for next year as they become available.
Thank you so much for the service you provided and we look forward to next year
Regards
Darryl Searle
Mid Jan 2024
The accommodation, access to the connected ski fields and the bus service in the evening to open up food options are all fantastic. It was great to wake up to this view.
I would recommend getting an all mountain pass for the whole time you are there as the mountain is very well connected.
Jason
Early Jan 2024
We had a fantastic time staying at the hotel. The rooms were comfortable and well appointed. The family room was a touch small but it didn’t matter really as, being ski in / ski out, we didn’t spend much time in it. The staff were helpful as were the gear lockers assigned to each room.
The snow was brilliant and we had some good falls, lift queues were non existent and the shuttle bus meant there was huge variety of runs on offer.
The only detractor was the food (breakfast and dinner). Whilst it was a buffet with good variety, many dishes missed the mark. That said, lunch options were fantastic and it became the main meal for us.
The food aspect is manageable and won’t stop us from returning again next year so please notify me when next year’s bookings open as we can’t wait to go back.
Paul
15th February 2023
The Prince East was good accommodation with great windows to the snowfields and the ski in ski out was perfect. The ski gear for hire was also very good.
Dinner at Prince East was something all guests do only once. Highly overpriced. The bus to and from other parts of Shiga was well used and we tried different places after the first night eating in. Some better than others. Many don’t accept credit cards. Lacked a village atmosphere, all eateries were in hotels.
Fantastic snow and enjoyed skiing from one resort area to another. Many more Australians ☹
Overall we had a great time!!
Thanks so much for your support in organising this for us!! It really was the best skiing I think I have ever had!!
Kind regards
Felicity
1st February 2023
As always we enjoyed our time at Shiga Kogen it is an amazing resort. The Prince Hotel delivered as usual with breakfast a highlight as it was a great way to start the day. Great weather was a bonus with plenty of snow along with very cold temps. We certainly picked a good time to go.
The only negative was that Nagano shuttle no longer picks up direct from the hotel as they used to and expect you to catch the local bus (packed to the hilt) down the hill to Nagano. The way it used to work was in my opinion much better and maybe you can make that comment to them for us.
Your service I must say was exemplary and made everything so easy for us. Your organisation from start to finish was flawless. We would be pleased if you would arrange next years trip for us. For next year we are thinking of splitting our time between Hakuba and Shiga and look forward to you advising us of the best deals for next year as they become available.
Thank you so much for the service you provided and we look forward to next year
Regards
Darryl Searle
31st January 2023
Oriana and I would like to thank you for a great experience. From our first contact with you where you were able to secure a great deal at the Prince East Hotel at Shiga Kogen with a lot of great inclusions, to guiding us through to the Covid uncertainty and your overall expertise and flexibility. We will definitely be using your services again on our next Japanese holiday.
The Prince East hotel Shiga Kogen was the perfect fit for us, a beautiful room, great food and snow at the back door. The staff at the hotel were wonderful and looked after us so well.
Kind Regards
Craig and Oriana Price
26th January 2023
We had a very good stay in Prince Hotel West. Staff was helpful and breakfast was excellent. The chairlift is just outside the hotel.
The Yakebitai ski area is good to start off your skiing. On other days, an all-mountain pass will allow you to ski from Yakebitai all the way to Sun Valley which is a huge area to ski. the snow was fantastic at time we were there (late January 2023).
The school children hold their ski camps in Shiga Kogen. There are literally hundreds of them on the slopes but they are well-behaved and the ski resort is so expansive that there is plenty of space for everyone.
Only complaint about the resort is that there is not much choice in dinner options. It could do with many more restaurants. Sadly, the Nepalese restaurant that we used to go to has closed down.
Hisae is great and super efficient at organising everything. Thanks Hisae.
Regards,
Lisa
25th January 2023
Shiga Kogen is a collection of inter-connecting areas to ride. Each with different terrain and accommodation options. We stayed at the Prince Hotel, in the East building, which included breakfast and 3-day lift pass. The room was large, and as you would expect in Japan, clean and well appointed. The rooms in the East building face the slopes with spectacular views. The breakfast was buffet style with plenty of options for you to choose from. There is a small convenience store, with a small equipment hire in the main foyer. Not a lot of options and quite expensive.
The East building would be considered the up-market location out of the 3 buildings. Especially when it came to dinner. We ate there once, and it was overpriced expensive.
They have a free shuttle service that starts at 5pm and goes between the other Prince buildings of South and West and into Ichinose. The West building has an excellent Ramen bar and Chinese restaurant. The West has the Onsen, rooms are smaller and is much busier, has a larger convenience store and equipment hire. You can walk between the locations and takes about 40 mins from the East Building into Ichinose. Ichinose does have more restaurants options; most you have to book. The staff at the Prince are really helpful and can call and book for you.
Shiga Kogen is an excellent place to visit, if you’re ok with eat, sleep, ride. During the week you’ll have the slopes to yourselves. If you are a beginner or intermediate rider it’s good, advanced not so much. They do leave a lot of ungroomed, so plenty of pow pow.
As always, Hisae does an excellent job of coordinating the accommodation. Hisae has been booking my Japan trips for past 11 years!
Cheers,
Darren
24th January 2023
Hotel and rooms were great, however they made the smoking rooms on the entire 1st floor so you had to walk through passive smoke every time you walked to and from your room.
4 person rooms are a tight fit.
The hotel had good shuttles to Ichinose but there were very few restaurants open. Even the conbini was shut on one occasion Very quiet. The open restaurants were expensive.
The hotel breakfast/dinner buffets were pretty good but a little repetitive if you have a long stay. Mix of western and Japanese food.
Lots of terrain to ride and a massive area to cover if you get an all resort pass. Or you can go cheaper and limit your yourself to Yakebitaiyama ski area at the resort if the weather is bad.
Snowboard hire was good. Good equipment and cheap with a discount from JSA.
Not good if you want nightlife.
Snow monkeys nearby on a lay day.
Japan Snow Accommodation service is excellent and thorough.
Pi & Hi are the G!!
Dave
23rd December 2022
Hi Sayuri and the team
Thanks so much for your assistance on booking her Japan ski trip.
For Shiga Kogen, I think the Prince Hotel bed and pillows were not very comfortable. Meal options were good. Staff English was an issue.
Thanks
Cellina
Mid Jan 2020
Yes we had a great time. This was our 5th trip to Japan. Despite the lack of snow (worst start to season in 30 years) it was still fun.
Shiga Kogan was easy to get to. We took the Shinkansen to Nagano, then the bus to the Prince Hotel which goes from right outside the Station. Dropped us off right outside the Prince West hotel.
Our twin rooms with ensuites were a big enough size for 12 days and the big wardrobe enabled us to hang our ski gear and get bags out the way. The beds were a little on the firm side. It not the most flash hotel but was clean and friendly. English was less spoken by the front reception so we had some interesting conversations a couple of times. The Japanese are so lovely though and go out of their way to help.
Despite some of the reviews we felt the west wing was the best. It has the onsen – so you don’t need to catch a bus to get one as you do from the other wings. The ability to do laundry was great. washing and drying machines located in the onsen change rooms, male and female sides, were very busy! We took our own boards and the free lockers next to the ski entrance was great. There is rental and tuning available in the hotel, also next to the ski entrance.
We had pre-booked the buffet breakfast which was very good. Big enough selection for the 12 days. Dinner was more of an issue. We had a couple of meals in some of the restaurants attached to the main hotel. We had noodles a few nights in our rooms but the rest of the time we caught the free hotel bus to Ichinose (700m away!). It leaves from the hotel entrance and just loops back and forth to Ichinose and the 3 wings from about 5 pm. In Ichinose there were a few more restaurants with good prices. Including one that did crepes! We walked to Ichinose a few times during the stay. An easy 10 min walk. There is very little there, no real shopping to speak of – a couple shops selling ski gear, quite a few restaurants and a convenience store, good for chocolate! We got our boards waxed at SnowCan ski shop in Ichinose which was a lot cheaper than the hotel price. Our son also needed to see a local doctor (GP) who works in the same building as SnowCan – this was great - saving us a long trip to Nagano and back.
The mountain attached to the 3 Prince hotel wings had some great runs and good lift structure. The free hotel lift passes were used if we wanted a quieter or half day. The snow outside the main exit was still dry lose powder when we arrived, 3 days after the last snowfall. I was very surprised as many Honshu resorts we have stayed in prior would have been hard packed within hours. The snow at Shiga was definitely drier than Myoko/Nozawa/Madarao.
The other parts of Shiga Kogan ski fields were easily accessed. We didn’t use the free bus- you can easily ski around 80% of the resorts by the interconnected runs and lifts. The electronic pass system worked great. You could buy a 4 day plus pass that was good for the rest of the season! So if we missed a few days by using our free hotel passes it didn’t matter. The lift passes were cheaper than other resorts we have boarded at in Japan. Very good value for the huge amount of terrain you have access to. The views at the top of the runs (2000 metres plus) were spectacular. (attached). You feel like you are on top of the world at Shiga.
We certainly will go back to Shiga Kogan again. Hopefully next time we will have at least an average snowfall.
Thanks Hisae for your recommendation and help, as usual it was spot on.
Rob
Mid Jan 2018
Another very successful trip this year. Our two families of 5 are hooked on Japan and we always try somewhere different if we can.
We really loved Shiga Kogen and the variety of runs spread over the resorts. Each resort has quite different runs and it is a good combination of wide groomers, challenging bumps and some pretty cool tree skiing. The snow was as good as we have seen in Japan, probably the best in our six trips there. The extra altitude certainly makes it al lot colder but the advantage is that the snow stays in excellent condition.
The All Mountain Pass is such a bonus in Shiga Kogen. Linking all the resorts by the lifts or shuttle bus it gives you tremendous flexibility to do something different each day.
We stayed one week at the Prince Hotel East Wing and then another week at the Prince Hotel west Wing. We were not expecting too much as everything we read said how old and tired the hotels were and how tiny the rooms are. Well, we were actually quite pleasantly surprised. Yes old and tired and tiny rooms but it was fine. Everything clean, very helpful staff, Pretty good in Room Wi Fi. We felt the South Wing was much better than the West Wing. A bit more intimate with a much better restaurant area.
Rooms were far nicer as well. Not luxury at all but very comfortable.
The location just close to ichinose was a bonus and gave some good dining options other than the Hotel which is very overpriced for meals. Get the packages with meals included.
As usual Japan Snow Accommodation were excellent. Hisae always organises everything well and never any issues. We would recommend them happily.
Here are a few snaps of Shiga Kogen. Beautiful place.
As a another quick tip, if you are staying in Tokyo, Shinjuku is a seriously good suburb to stay in. Busy, exactly how you picture Tokyo to be but with superb dining, great shopping,
close to lots of sights and transport to everywhere else from the sprawling Shinjuku station.
Cheers
Ben van Dorsselaer
Hobart
Mid February 2014
Shiga was wonderful. We had forgotten just how good it is. Plenty of variety, good facilities and great snow. Prince west was very good. It’s location is excellent. Long, enjoyable runs right on our doorstep. We like to get out early and enjoy the snow while it is still in pristine condition. Prince was perfect for this. We couldn’t fault the rooms, staff were friendly and helpful. The bed and breakfast rate was excellent value.
View from our twin room was wonderful (attached photo). We particularly enjoyed the breakfast arrangement. Everything from traditional Japanese to cooked western to fruit and yoghurt. Only negative comment was the dinner arrangement. Dinner in the hotel was expensive (4,000 yen pp fixed price), and didn’t look that inviting. We had dinner next door at the Chinese restaurant or walked into Ichinose. The walk only took about 10 minutes and was actually quite enjoyable. We certainly plan to return, and will probably stay at Prince West again. I will be in touch later in the year to get things organised. I have already recommended the hotel to a couple of people. Thank you for all your help and advice with the holiday, we are already looking forward to next year’s trip.
One Happy Family
January 2014
We had a another terrific holiday skiing in Japan- we all enjoyed it very much. Shiga Kogen and Nozawa are, as you will be aware, very different and so there were mixed opinions within the family as to which place was best. Some of us enjoyed Shiga Kogen best as the quality of the snow was great (we had some lovely powder snow while we were there) and there was good access to a large range of different ski areas.
The rooms at the Prince Hotel (East) were comfortable and had a wonderful view onto the slopes and the hotel is absolutely ski in- ski out. The reception staff spoke reasonable english and were very helpful. The lack of internet in the rooms meant that all the guests congregated in the lobby, which was not particularly comfortable or atmospheric, to get wifi access in the late afternoon/evening, at which time the internet became painfully slow. The hotel food was very nice but very expensive, particularly given that we were travelling with children.
The isolation of the hotel meant that there was no other place nearby to visit easily. We were lucky to have a hire car which meant that we could drive to Ichinose for dinner, but it would have been very frustrating (& expensive!) had we not been able to do so as (inter-resort buses did not seem very frequent). The main criticism of Prince Hotel would be the lack of apres ski activites (no café for a snack, no nice communal gathering area, no easy access to internet). For this reason, if I were staying for any length of time at Shiga Kogen without transport, I might consider accommodation in one of the village resorts.
So, in my view, Shiga Kogen was best for the skiing, and Nozawa was best for the all-round experience. Thank you for your assistance in finding suitable accommodation for us. I have attached a few of photographs of our two are of my son in the powder at Shiga Kogen.
Julia Jago